There's worse things I could have done

It's not what it looks like....

okay, maybe it is,

but it's not really my fault.

Well, maybe a little.

I mean he was already dead.

I found him on the side of the road.

~~~~~

After having taken a class with LK Ludwig

at the fabulous Valley Ridge last year

and seeing the gorgeous pages she made using bird wings....

well, I decided I needed birdwings, too.

And so my search started.

~~~~~

The bad thing is that most dead birds are flat

and smooshed when you find them....

totally useless for any kind of art project.

~~~~~

So imagine how thrilled I was when I came across

a dead bird

in perfect condition.

Well, not totally perfect,

as he was dead.

But he was perfect for me.

~~~~~

I was on my way to the cottage

when I found him.

I rounded a corner and there he was.

Now stop scrunching up your face thinking that I'm a freak....

only my family is allowed to think such things about me !!!!

~~~~~

So I picked up the dead bird...

yes, with my bare hands

and threw him in the back of my SUV

{and like I knew this could actually happen someday,

I actually had a garbage bag to put him in}

and happily drove to the cottage,

with a big smile on my face,

so anxious to show my hubby the present I had to share with him.

~~~~~

"Buff.....you're a freak," he said,

as I pulled the dead

red-headed woodpecker out of the garbage bag...

And then just like I knew he would,

he held the bird for me

while I clipped his wings off with a pair of scissors.

~~~~~

And then my sister called

and I told her the bird story

and she called me a freak.

And when I came back home from the cottage,

I showed the kids and told them the story

and they called me a freak

and then laughed alot !!!

~~~~~

And sometimes isn't that what life is all about ?

Having your family call you a freak,

while knowing

that deep down inside

they wouldn't trade you for a million bucks !!!!